The Fizzy Pops are from the western ‘burbs of Chicago. They have released a self-titled album in 2009 on Throw Up Records and just released their new album Manic Motives and the Art of Faking on Swamp Cabbage Records.The band alternates vocal duty between bassist Luke Ostojic and guitarist Caitlin Ferraro. The Fizzy Pops combine fast beats and snotty somewhat non-traditional, “unpretty” pop punk vocals. With their catchy riffs and energetic live performances, their songs will get stuck in your head. Their tunes channel influences from early Green Day, Screeching Weasel, The Muffs, and The Queers.

The kids know what’s up and, all of a sudden, the kids are really into The Kobanes, with T-shirts and other merch cropping up en masse. A split label Japanese release to coincide with one of the band’s infamous Japanese tours, Japan Invasion is a very solid, mainline pop punk album. Taking 1990s silliness to new peaks with songs about loved ones smelling each other’s feces, suburban ghettos, dicks, and drugs, The Kobanes’ lyrics are gleefully apolitical, mean-spirited, and downright asinine. And that’s a compliment! Driving, Queers-inspired riffs dominate the mix, with geek-tinged vocals maintaining a spirited, tongue-in-ass-cheek vibe. A higher end byproduct of a dwindling subgenre, Japan Invasion happily invaded this aging pop punker’s heavy rotation. There’s even a cover of “Fan Mail” included for Dickies fans. Plus, any album that starts with a dialog sample from Class of Nuke ’em High is okay by me. –Art Ettinger